No Objections To That
by autumn midnights
Summary: Daphne can't help but notice Lavender's beauty and personality - and Lavender can't help but notice Daphne, either. Set during DH. Will not be continued. Femslash.


_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. And DaphneLavender is an M&MWP, so credit for the pairing goes to mew-tsubaki and Morghen_.

_Author's Note: Anyway, this is dedicated to my lovely big sis mew, for the Gift-Giving Extravaganza 2013. __It's also being submitted for the As Strong As We Are United Competition, the Harry Potter Femmeslash Project Challenge, the Forbidden Relationship Competition, the Shakespeare Competition (Romeo and Juliet) and the Wand Wood Competition (Maple - write about a pairing you've never written before)._

* * *

Daphne tried to focus on the words that Professor Carrow was speaking. Getting caught zoning out was a terrible idea. Her goal for the year was to keep her head down and not be noticed by the Carrows; it was the goal of many students, it seemed, although more and more of them were joining that rebel group. Daphne thought the idea of outright rebellion against the Carrows was dangerous and risky, and that most of the people doing so were foolish.

That didn't stop her gaze, though, from sweeping to Lavender Brown every minute. Lavender was beautiful, with soft brown hair that was just a little wavy, and a sweet, heart-shaped face. Daphne did not talk to the other girl often, but she noticed Lavender enough to know that the Gryffindor girl was bold and talkative, and didn't hesitate to talk openly about which blokes - and, in quieter tones, which girls - were attractive.

Daphne thought _Lavender _was the attractive one. It wasn't as though she was going to say so, however - Daphne was no Gryffindor. She'd never have the courage to tell someone her feelings outright; it just wasn't how she was.

That didn't stop her from watching, though. She tried to pay attention in class; she truly did. There was no denying, though, that Lavender was so much nicer to look at than Professor Carrow - either one - and she was so damn distracting. Lavender wore an expression of distaste in both Muggle Studies and Dark Arts, and didn't hesitate to slump in her seat, throwing her head on her hand and yawning loudly.

Her behavior endeared Daphne to her all the more.

o0o0o0o

"Hey, Greengrass! _Daphne_!" The voice's calls sounded loud in the throng of seventh years leaving Professor Carrow's classroom, and Daphne turned around, looking for who had called her. It was obvious within a second; Lavender waved her hand, and repeated, "Daphne!"

Daphne's heart pounded, and she stepped over to the other girl, narrowly dodging two Ravenclaw girls - Li and MacDougal - who seemed angry at something. Presumably Carrow. "Yes?" Daphne said, her eyes meeting Lavender's. The two girls were within an inch of each other's height.

"The Dark Arts essay," Lavender said, nodding her head in the direction of the classroom they had just exited. "How long is it supposed to be? Missed that part."

"A foot of parchment," Daphne replied, trying to ignore the part of her brain telling her to snog Lavender in the middle of the corridor.

Lavender smiled. "Thank you." She hefted her bag all the way onto her shoulder.

"You're welcome." Daphne risked a small smile as well. She couldn't resist adding, "See you around, Lavender," at the end of it, and the Gryffindor girl looked surprised.

"You know, for a Slytherin, you're not too bad," she responded, and then she hurried off, waving, and leaving Daphne staring after her, wondering if something could actually happen.

o0o0o0o

"Daphne," Pansy said tiredly, shaking herself awake for the fifth time that night, "can you go patrol the fifth floor, and I'll do the fourth? I'm sick of going up and down - we'll never catch anybody that way."

_Maybe I don't want to catch anybody. _Daphne didn't speak the words; she could never say something like that to Pansy. The two girls were friends, but Pansy supported the Carrows' regime more than Daphne did. All of the older Slytherins had to patrol, however, so Daphne didn't have a choice. She was simply glad that she and Pansy had never found anybody out after curfew. "Sure," Daphne said. "Stay awake, okay?"

"Oh, for the love of Merlin, I know," Pansy said harshly, snappishly, but then seemed to regret it, for her next words were softer. "See you back at the dorm, Daph."

Daphne nodded at her and hurried upstairs. Even though it was late, she felt on-edge and alert; she was more scared of catching someone than of not catching somebody. She didn't want to turn people over to the Carrows - detentions were horrific, minutes spent under the Cruciatus Curse, and there was no way Daphne wanted any part of that.

As she reached the fifth floor, she heard a noise, and promptly froze, warring with herself as to what she should do. She didn't have to think very long, though, for someone came walking along the corridor, nearly running right into her. Daphne held her wand up, and in the light, she could see Lavender, standing in front of her, a scared but determined look in her eyes.

Daphne took a deep breath. "Go," she whispered. "I'm not going to turn you in. I-I...I can't." She lowered her wand to her side. "Be careful. Pansy's on the fourth floor."

She felt arms around her - Lavender was hugging her, Merlin! - and then the other girl darted off, her footsteps quiet. Daphne sank against the wall, disbelieving. Had she really just disobeyed the Carrows? Had she really just let a Gryffindor, one of the rebels, go off to do whatever she was out here to do?

Yes.

o0o0o0o

It wasn't after curfew, but it was getting late as Daphne wandered the corridors of Hogwarts, not having a specific location in mind, but not wanting to be in the Slytherin common room or dormitories. Both of them were too full of people siding with the Carrows, people like Crabbe and Goyle, who thought that the Death Eaters had the right idea. She didn't want to hear that any more than she had to. She had taken to aimlessly walking around, no destination in mind.

She was passing by an empty classroom when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her in; taken off-guard, Daphne stumbled, falling into the person's arms. _Lavender. _Lavender held her for a moment more than was necessary - or was it that Daphne stayed there a moment more than necessary? - before pulling the Slytherin to her feet. "Sorry," Lavender said, blushing slightly.

"It's fine. What -" Daphne cut herself off before she could say 'What do you want?'. That was much too rude, considering her still-existing crush on Lavender. "Is something wrong?" she finally said, surveying Lavender's face.

"Oh, no, nothing's wrong," Lavender said easily. "I just wanted to thank you for last week. You know...not turning me in, even though I was breaking curfew."

"I couldn't do that," Daphne said. "I didn't want to turn you in." The words flew out of her mouth unbidden, the emphasis on 'you' just a little too strong. "Or anybody else," Daphne said, but it sounded weak even to her own ears."

A smile crossed Lavender's face; her expression was simultaneously surprised and happy, and it seemed obvious that she had caught Daphne's emphasized 'you'. Daphne tried to stop the blush from spreading across her cheeks, but she knew she couldn't do anything about that reaction, at least. "You know," Lavender said, "I could have asked Parvati about that Dark Arts essay a month ago."

Daphne felt her heartbeat speed up. "But you didn't."

"No, I didn't," Lavender agreed. "I asked you."

"Why?" The word was soft, nearly a whisper, and Daphne couldn't resist drawing closer to Lavender. She looked beautiful, the soft light from the classroom shining on her, making her hair look brownish-gold, making her seem almost angelic.

"Because," Lavender said, "you're not like the other Slytherins. You're not obnoxious like they are, especially this year. And I...noticed you, and I thought to myself that you seemed like a person I wouldn't mind getting to know." She was blushing slightly as well. "I'm...I'm thinking that I was right."

"That's probably the nicest thing someone's said to me in a while," Daphne said, her voice still low and quiet. "And..." She hesitated, working up all her courage to speak the next words. It wasn't easy; Daphne wasn't used to opening herself up like this. "I wouldn't mind getting to know you either."

Lavender laughed, but not meanly; it was a sweet sound. "Oh, Daphne - you do realize you're not subtle? You look at me in every single class that we have together, multiple times. I've caught you looking. Slytherins say that Gryffindors are the not-subtle ones, and that you're all tricky and subtle and clever, but I noticed you noticing me."

Daphne felt her cheeks get even warmer. "I'm sorry. I-"

"Don't be sorry!" Lavender slung her arm around Daphne's shoulders. "You know, I caught myself looking at you a few times when you weren't glancing at me - you're pretty nice to look at, yourself. And..." Her eyebrows waggled just a little. "Once we become really close, you know, get to know each other well...let's just say there are other ways to 'get to know' each other."

Daphne couldn't help but laugh at that. "I don't think I have any objections to that, either."

Lavender removed her arm and leaned forward, pressing a soft, quick kiss to Daphne's lips, and waved her wand towards the door, closing it. "I think, my dear, that we have a lot to talk about," she said, smiling. "After all, we have years' worth of material to tell one another."

The Slytherin girl smiled, enclosing Lavender's hand in her own. "Then we're going to have to spend quite a lot of time with each other."

Lavender grinned. "I definitely don't have any objections to that."


End file.
